Pepsi Bringing Out Limited Time "Pepsi Fire"

In a move that's sure to please the cinnamon lovers out there, PepsiCo announced the addition of Pepsi Fire to its summer lineup. It's a cinnamon infused version of their namesake Cola.

Today, Pepsi is encouraging fans to "Get It While It's Hot™" with the launch of its newest limited-edition beverage, Pepsi Fire. Beginning May 22, Pepsi Fire – the refreshing cola with a cinnamon flavored twist – will be available in stores nationwide for an eight-week period.

So, if you're a cinnamon lover you have 8 weeks to indulge yourself. This is one I'll probably skip, as I'm not a hot cinnamon kind of guy.
PepsiCo is also running a Social Media based contest for the release. They are offering some pretty cool prizes.

Pepsi Is Bringing Back An Oldie

Well, they say that everything that is old is new again and that apparently holds true for the iconic Crystal Pepsi. It's been out for awhile in Canada, but should start hitting the shelves any day now in the US. Here's hoping that Pepsi enjoys some success with this, as many fans of the original wanted it back. We'll just have to see how it does!

Two New Canned Offerings From Pepsi

The folks at PepsiCo are coming out with two new offerings in the premium market. 1893 Cola offers all natural ingredients and comes in two flavours, Cola and Ginger. They are certainly taking advantage of the changing tastes of their target audience and have a good leg up on their competition in this arena. I'm looking forward to trying these out when they hit my area. While I might prefer a nice glass bottle, it cannot be denied that cans have a place. This will be a new experience, I can't think of any premium Soda's that come in cans off the top of my head. Way to go PepsiCo!

For more on this offering from Pepsi read the rest.

Pepsi and Mt. Dew To Go Retro

Coming in April Pepsi Bottling Ventures will introduce two new items, Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. Both of these will be formulated using Sugar instead of HFCS. About time they did something like this. Now if others would only follow suit. Kudos to PBV!

This year also brings some new introductions, graphics and packaging innovations from PepsiCo, for which the company has high expectations. In CSD flavors, PBV will add Mountain Dew Voltage, which was the winning flavor in the brand’s Dewmocracy campaign. In the middle of April, PBV also will begin distributing Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, which features those brands formulated with sugar. For the flagship PepsiCo brands, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist, PBV also is beginning to distribute the brands featuring their new redesigned graphics and packaging, which is part of a holistic campaign aimed at drawing in younger consumers. PepsiCo also is launching a new advertising campaign with the release.

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Shame On PepsiCo!

Looks like the Pepsi Company is suing a company for importing and selling a better version of their product.

PepsiCo says a metro Atlanta company is illegally distributing a Mexican version of its soda in Georgia, according to a lawsuit pending in federal court.

PepsiCo, the beverage and snack foods giant based in Purchase, N.Y., alleges in the lawsuit that Clayton Distributing Co. violated trademark laws, committed fraud and engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices by distributing Mexican Pepsi in the United States.
Clayton Distributing has not been authorized to distribute the Pepsi product, Pepsi said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

The Mexican product also is not intended for distribution in the United States, the company said. The labels do not comply with Food and Drug Administration or PepsiCo standards for the United States and the product could deteriorate during shipping.

“The Mexican product is neither authorized nor intended for exportation out of Mexico,” Pepsi said in its filing.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 17. The court records do not show a response yet by Clayton Distributing. Clayton lists Austell as its principal office and Kennesaw as the address for its registered agent.

This is hardly the way to treat brand loyalty. Customers want something that you're not willing to provide, a product sweetened with Cane Sugar and not with that foul tasting HFCS. Here's a hint, Pepsi. Back off and let your customers have what they really want, even if you refuse to meet that market need. This is obviously what they want. I notice that I haven't seen the Coca~Cola company doing this to people who distribute their Mexican product.Maybe there's a model there for you to emulate?

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Pepsi, Cane Sugar, Mexico